Tow rotation should be commissioners' first option to improve traffic safety, congestion

Updated 11:57 pm, Saturday, January 28, 2017

It's time for Montgomery County to initiate a program that improves the flow of traffic, increases driver safety and reduces subsequent vehicle crashes during ongoing traffic incidents on our roads.

However, the Quick Clearance Traffic Program county commissioners heard about last week is not the answer to this problem. The first step is implementing a bill authored by state Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, that was passed by legislators almost two years ago.

Metcalf created legislation that enables the Sheriff's Office and county to implement a tow-rotation plan for wrecker drivers at the scene of accidents and other non-consent tow incidents on our roads.

The existing chip system creates logjams at traffic scenes as multiple wreckers rush to the location to drop their chip into a bag in hopes of getting picked for the tow. This creates a handful of safety issues, as the wrecker drivers must race to the location, then clog the roads with multiple tow trucks, compounding the mess already created by the traffic issue.

Metcalf's tow rotation would allow all county-permitted tow-truck drivers to be in a rotation of calls to go to the scenes. A couple of wreckers at each scene (compared with at least 10 at times) certainly reduces congestion and improves safety all the way around.

There were kinks to be worked out in the program, such as the amount of time allotted for a driver to get to the scene and whether it would be a countywide tow rotation or divided up by commissioner precincts or Sheriff's patrol districts.

However, this is the perfect time to get this done. Wrecker companies will renew or request their permits in February. This program could be in place by April, which would be two years after Metcalf's legislation passed. Rand Henderson was sworn in as the new sheriff New Year's Day, and he can implement the program that he believes is best for traffic safety and fair to all wrecker companies.

The Quick Clearance Towing Program, presented by the director of Transportation Planning for the Houston-Galveston Area Council during Tuesday's court meeting, has its shortcomings.

HGAC is implementing a pilot program, funded by the Texas Department of Transportation, that is similar to the SafeClear program the city of Houston started in 2005 but later abandoned. They are doing it in Houston/Harris County and want to expand it to surrounding counties in the region.

The program calls for wrecker companies to be responsible for a certain area of the freeway and tow disabled vehicles to a nearby safe place so the driver can fix the vehicle there or have it towed by that company or another service. However, these short tows, which are free to the drivers, will not be offered for crashed, abandoned or flooded vehicles, or when an arrest is made; and it's only for the freeways.

The way it works is that the county would pay the tow-truck company $60 to remove the vehicle from the area, then at some point get reimbursed from HGAC through federal funds. The county is responsible for picking the tow companies that would get the work and partner with cities. The wrecker services chosen for this program also would get preferential treatment to tow vehicles at other incidents.

In addition, the program requires a six-minute response time, promoting tow-truck drivers to rush to the scene even faster than they currently do. When county commissioners discussed the tow-rotation program a year ago, they were concerned that 20 minutes was not enough time and promoted speeding to scenes.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador also pointed out that the constable's offices already assists drivers with flat tires and other minor issues to get them fixed up and moving along, but it does not involve towing a vehicle.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark addressed the issue with creating a potential "monopoly" for wrecker drivers chosen for the program because they would have the first shot at other non-consent tows as well.

Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack was concerned about government taking over private business and wanted proof through studies that show the program actually reduces traffic congestion and improves safety.

All three brought up good points to consider, which made it even clearer that the first step to improving traffic flow is implementing the tow-rotation and making good use of the bill authored by Metcalf. It covers all unincorporated areas in Montgomery County, would clear the roads of multiple wreckers on scene, eliminate the necessity of tow-truck drivers rushing to incidents and create a system that gives all wrecker drivers equal opportunities for business.